Mushroom Island Link
by Shritistrang
Summary: A young boy named Link is raised on a small island, in the kingdom of Princess Peach. The plumber Mario becomes his best friend. When Link and Mario go on a journey to save a princess, they surprisingly find out about Link's true heritage...
1. A peculiar package

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom. It was a very small kingdom, actually. It consisted of only one single town called Toad-Town… and that town itself wasn't even very big to begin with. There were only four buildings in the whole town: A normal house, a house that doubled as a shop, a train station and a castle. This was the Mushroom Kingdom.

Unlike bigger countries, such as Italy or France, there weren't too many people living here. In the castle lived the peace-loving ruler of the kingdom, the gentle and demure Princess Peach, together with her personal steward Toadsworth, and her maid Toadette. She had a small park behind her castle, in which her best friend and royal pet lived, a green dinosaur called Yoshi.

In the house with the shop, a small mushroom boy named Toad was living. He was in charge of the only shop on the island. If anyone wanted to buy anything, it could be found in Toad's store. It was well known that Toad had a massive crush on Peach's maid, Toadette, but the two little mushroom retainers believed that their love was a well-kept secret.

In the normal house, the two brothers Mario and Luigi were living. They were plumbers and did not only take care of the kingdom's plumbing, but also of all the necessary repairs and other technical works. They had constructed a big network of pipes underneath the town that allowed everyone to reach each place within a matter of seconds. No one really bothered telling them that this network was useless, since each building could be reached within seconds on foot from each part of the kingdom… but since the Mario Brothers were so proud of their work, nobody dared telling them the truth.

They lead a quiet, but happy life in their little kingdom. On holidays, Peach sat down on Yoshi's back and rode through her whole kingdom, while her subjects cheered and the Mario Brothers threw their caps up into the air with joy.

One other important thing should be said about the Mushroom Kingdom. It is strongly advised not to walk across the kingdom's borders… as anyone who did that would instantly have wet feet. The reason: The whole kingdom was situated on a tiny island, in the middle of the wide ocean.

Once or twice a week, Mushroom Island was visited by the mailman, a pelican named Pete. As the kingdom was so isolated, they rarely got any exciting mail. Princess Peach loved the peace and quiet and had almost no political contact to any other countries.

The inhabitants of the little island were happy with their lives, and would have most probably never left their island… if not for a notable event that would change all of their lives forever.

One day, Pete the mailman arrived in Toad-Town with a very stern expression on his face, which was pretty unusual for him. "Does someone named 'Miyu Too' live on this island?"

Mario looked at Luigi, Toad looked at Toadette and even Princess Peach came out of her castle. "My dear Pete," she said sweetly, but with a hint of sternness behind her words. "You've been bringing us our mail for more than five years now, and you know me and every single of my subjects. You should know that there is no one called 'Miyu Too' living in my kingdom."

"But Your Highness," Pete said. "Please, read for yourself, Your Highness!" And he gave her the big parcel he was holding. It was completely wrapped in packaging paper, and on the bottom, someone had written the mailing address with huge, scrawly letters:

'TO: MIYUU TOO

OLD STREAT 88

THIRD FLOAR ON THE LEFD

M. ISLANT'

Peach read the address loudly, and everyone scratched his or her head thoughtfully. "That is… strange, very strange," Toadsworth spoke up.

Peach nodded. "Indeed, it is. But I think Pete is right: 'M. ISLANT' can only be our Mushroom Island."

"What about a return address?" Toad asked.

Mario took a look. "All I can see is a big, red R on the back."

"Very strange indeed…" Peach said again.

"But princess…" Toadette protested. "There is no Old Street here in Toad-Town."

"That is right, admittedly," Peach nodded.

"And we also don't have a house number 88," Luigi added.

"That is also correct," Peach said.

"And especially no building with three floors," Mario concluded. "As this town's only plumber, I know every household. Maybe Pete just made a mistake…"

The pelican looked pretty offended after hearing that.

"But think about it…" Peach suddenly got very excited. "If he didn't, then I have another subject… a subject I knew nothing about! Oh, this is so exciting…"

And while Peach ran back into her castle and tried to call every household in her kingdom via telephone, Mario took the parcel from Pete, sat down on Yoshi and rode across the whole island, shouting: "Mr. Miyuuuuu! Here's a parcel for yoouuuuuu!"

But of course, nobody answered.

In the end, they couldn't find him. And since Peach was the kingdom's ruler, he allowed her to open the parcel, so they knew what was inside. Soon enough, everyone stood around Peach as she was in her room in the castle and tore the packaging paper away from the parcel.

"As soon as we know what's inside, we're gonna know more about this whole matter," Toadsworth proclaimed.

When all of the packaging paper was removed, they all could see that there were air holes in the box. Peach opened it… and there was a smaller box inside. In that one was an even smaller box, and then another one, each with air holes in it. The smallest was about as big as a shoebox.

The princess then opened the last one… and there was a small baby lying in the box, with a small tuft of blonde hair atop its head, looking at them with big eyes.

"A baby?" Luigi wondered.

"If I may, I think this is a little boy," Toadsworth said.

"Awww, how cute!" Toadette gushed.

"How strange…" Toad murmured. "Look, there's a small, golden triangle on his left hand…"

Mario, however, was getting angry. "Who in their right mind would put a small, helpless baby into a box and send it away in the mail? If I imagine what could have happened to the little guy…"

Mario's loud voice scared the baby boy, so he began to cry. Peach quickly picked him up and tried to calm him with soothing words. Mario looked at the floor in shame. He didn't want to scare the little guy.

Peach, however, couldn't be any happier. For a long time, her biggest wish had been to be a mother, and it seemed that now, this dream was coming true.

Pete was actually happy with that solution. He didn't know where else he could have brought the baby. He didn't know any other island that started with an M, and the R on the back of the box didn't really give any clues on who had mailed the baby away. In the end, everyone agreed that he could stay on Mushroom Island.

"How are we gonna call him?" Toadette suddenly asked.

Mario smiled as he looked at the baby boy in Peach's arms. "Well, I suggest calling him Link, because of that triangle on his left hand… and since left means 'links' in German…" He carefully held his right index finger in the baby's direction. "Hello, Link!"

And Link touched the plumber's gloved finger and laughed. From that day on, they were friends.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Pete the pelican is the mailman from the Animal Crossing games.

This story is based on the book of German author Michael Ende, 'Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer' (English title: Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver).

More chapters coming soon.


	2. The departure

As the years passed, Link grew from a baby into a boy that did what all young boys loved to do: Having fun and playing pranks! He climbed trees, crawled through the pipe system, hid Toadsworth's cane and once even tried to jump from the castle's roof. His best friend was and would always be Mario. While he got along great with Toad, Toadette, Luigi and Yoshi, he and Mario always understood each other without saying much. Link admired Mario's craftsmanship and willingness to help others, and he swore to be just like Mario some day.

Peach watched Link's growth with pride and joy, of course. She loved to sew clothes for him, including a green tunic and a cap of the same color, which quickly became his favorite set of clothes. But every time she saw that Link had grown yet another inch, she sighed deeply, and Link never understood what worried her so much.

But Link wouldn't be the first one to learn what it was that troubled the princess. Instead, it was his best friend. One evening, Princess Peach called Mario to a small, private meeting with her in the castle.

When Mario came inside, he realized that something was up. Even Toadsworth and Toadette weren't around. "Peach must really mean it when she says she wants to speak to me privatly…" he murmured.

He found her in the library, where she looked at a heavy atlas. She looked up when Mario entered. "Mario, good evening! Please, have a seat…"

Mario sat down next to her. "Peach, what's up?" he asked. "I can see that something is on your mind, so what is it?"

Peach closed the atlas and sighed. "Mario, you know me. I don't make a decision without having thought about it thoroughly. And after trying to find a solution for years, I have realized that there is just no other way: We have to do it!"

"Excuse me, princess… but WHAT is it that we have to do?"

"Didn't I already tell you?" Peach asked in surprise. Mario shook his head.

The princess scratched her head. "Strange, I thought I already told you that we need to take Yoshi away from here…"

Mario didn't believe his ears. "Sorry, but… we have to do WHAT with Yoshi?"

"Take him away," Peach nodded sadly. "I am deeply grieved by the fact that we have to do it, but… I just see no other way."

"No way!" Mario firmly protested. Before Link had arrived on the island, Yoshi had always been his best pal. "WHY do you even suggest that?"

"As a princess, I have to solve a lot of problems," Peach tried to explain. "One of these problems is that our country is very, very small. And see, when Link grows up, there just won't be enough space for all of us."

"But he's only a little kid!" Mario protested. "Surely he's not taking away that much space…"

"Oh, sure, sure, he's just a child… but… for how long? Some day, he will grow up, and he will want to build a house for himself. But Mario, tell me: Where? There is no free place on Mushroom Island where he could live. The only place where he could live would be the park where Yoshi lives… and when a house is there, Yoshi won't have enough space for his beloved fruit trees."

Mario groaned. He never had thought about that. "But are you sure we have to make Yoshi leave? Where should he go?"

"There are more than enough islands around us with plenty of fruit trees, the perfect habitat for Yoshis," Peach said. "And we can visit him as often as we like. Think about it, Mario, would you want that Link leaves the island?"

"No, of course not…" Mario murmured. "But neither want I Yoshi to leave. Princess, there just has to be a way…"

"I've thought about it, Mario," Peach said. "There is no other way. Yoshi won't have to leave tonight, or even within the next few years. But he will have to leave before Link turns into an adult. I'm sorry, Mario…"

"Yes…" Mario mumbled as he stood up and left. "Me too…"

Instead of walking home, he left the castle through the back entrance and entered the huge garden in where multiple fruit trees were growing. So this would be the place where Link would be living one day…

Yoshi came jumping out of the bushes, welcoming his friend with cheerful squeaks of joy.

Mario smiled as he petted the young dinosaur's head. "Hey there, Yoshi…" he said. He took an apple from a nearby tree and gave it to Yoshi, who hungrily devoured it within seconds.

Mario then sat down on a log and sighed. Yoshi crouched down next to him and looked up at his friend curiously.

"Yoshi… I can't make you leave," Mario murmured. "No, I couldn't stay here without you. Instead, we shall leave together and try to find an island to live on… just the two of us."

Yoshi didn't always understand his human friend, but he could tell that Mario was distressed, and so he began to cry and sniffle as well.

Mario stroked the ridges that were running down Yoshi's neck and back and nodded. "Yes, we're leaving… tonight! It's because of Link, you see? One day, he will be grown, and then he has no place to live. You wouldn't want that he has to leave, would you?"

"Hey, what's the matter?" a high voice spoke up. Mario looked up in surprise when suddenly, Link came crawling out off the bushes. The young boy had paid Yoshi a visit earlier and played with him the whole afternoon, until he was so tired that he fell asleep in the bushes. When Mario came and began to talk to Yoshi, he woke up and could listen to everything he said.

"Hello, Link!" Mario smiled. "You weren't supposed to hear that, I'm afraid. But, why not? Yes, it is true, Yoshi and I will leave Mushroom Island."

"Because of me?" Link asked in a shocked voice.

"The princess has a point," Mario said. "Mushroom Island has never been big, and we just managed to find enough space for us all to live. But now one of us has to leave. Sorry, but Yoshi has been my buddy since childhood… I can't let him live on another island, all by himself. So I'm gonna go with him."

"No!" Link said. "You can't do that! Mario, you're my friend as well! Did you think about what I would say about this?"

"Link, I know what you're saying, but I really have to go."

"I won't let you!" Link cried and hugged his friend. "If you're leaving, then I'm gonna come along with you!"

"But Link, you're the reason why we have to leave in the first place."

"I don't care! If one of us is leaving, we're all gonna leave! We can't stay here… so we're leaving!"

Mario sighed. "I dunno, Link, I don't think that's what Princess Peach had in mind… and it's gonna be dangerous, you know? We don't really know where we will end up…"

"I'm still going with you," Link said in a resolute voice. "And I'm not scared. You trained me how to fight, remember? And I have my wooden sword in my room. I'm coming with you!"

Mario realized that nothing he said would change the boy's decision. "All right… but we have to leave tonight. Pack your things and meet me at the beach at midnight. If you're late, we're gonna leave without you."

"Trust me, I'll be there!" Link said.

But over the next few hours, Link thought about it and wondered if it had been such a good decision after all. Still, he couldn't bear the thought of losing his friend. Princess Peach had been like a mother to him, sure, and she would miss him… but he would leave behind a letter, so she would understand the reason why he left.

Link was determined to stay up until midnight. After dinner, he went into his room early, telling Peach that he was going to sleep. The princess was surprised, but didn't object. But instead of going to bed, Link packed his bag with everything he needed, including a few mushrooms and a jar of honey syrup. He also packed a couple of Deku Nuts and polished his wooden sword. He then sat down on his bed and waited, determined to stay awake.

But at some point, he must have fallen asleep. He was dreaming that he was standing at the beach, and Mario and Yoshi had already left without him. Yoshi was running across the sea as if it was solid land, and Mario was sitting on his back and waved. "Why didn't you come, Link? Now we have to leave without you… goodbye… godbye…"

Link wanted to run after them, but his feet seemed to be rooted to the ground. He tried pulling himself free, and that's what woke him up.

The green-clothed boy shook his head in confusion. He realized that he had been dreaming and looked at the clock.

"Oh no!" he gasped. "It's almost midnight!" He quickly strapped his sword to his back and took his bag. But just when he wanted to leave, he remembered: He still had to write the letter for Peach!

He quickly took a piece of paper and a pencil… then he remembered that he couldn't write. In the end, he quickly doodled a few small pictures on the paper.

The first picture showed him, Mario and Yoshi on a small boat that was floating next to the island. That was supposed to mean: 'I left Mushroom Island together with Mario and Yoshi.'

The next picture showed a teary face of Peach, which he crossed out. Next to it, he drew a happy-faced Peach. That meant: 'Don't worry about me, I want you to stay happy.'

And in the end, he drew his face very closely to hers, which was supposed to mean: 'Many kisses, your Link'.

He left the paper on his desk, grabbed his things and climbed out of his window. Luckily, there were many vines growing down the wall. He then ran over to the beach.

He found Mario and Yoshi inside a small boat, just enough for the three of them. Mario was already setting sail when Link came running, wading through the water. "Mario! Wait for me! I'm coming, too!"

A big smile appeared underneath Mario's bushy mustache when he saw his friend. "Link! Am I glad to see you! And here I thought you changed your mind…"

"No way! I always want to stay with you!" Link shouted. He took Mario's arm. "Friends forever, right?"

Mario smiled and put his hand on Link's shoulder. "Right, friends forever!"

Yoshi smiled at them, but when he looked back at Mushroom Island, he let out a deep sigh.

"Don't you worry, old buddy," Mario told him. "I'm sure we're gonna come back here… some day…"

Link couldn't help it: He had to sniffle when he saw the silhouette of Peach's castle against the full moon.

"You all right, little buddy?" Mario asked.

Link wiped his nose. "Over already. I'm fine."

And then, Mario steered their little boat around, leaving Mushroom Island behind, and neither of the three friends knew where the wind would take them…

* * *

Author's Notes:

You might think that the reason why they left was a bit far-fetched. I mainly wrote it like this because it was the same in the book I'm basing this story on.


	3. Arrival in Hyrule

Nothing of importance happened during their sea journey. Most of the time, Mario steered their little boat across the waves, while Link and Yoshi tried to catch Cheep-Cheep or other fish (with fishing pole and tongue, respectively). In the evening, Mario would pull in the sails, and the three of them sat inside the cabin, playing little games until it was time to go to bed.

They didn't have a clock or a compass, so Link wondered where they were going, but Mario was confident and said: "Where the winds will blow us. All this water has to come to an end at some point, right?"

And so it did.

After a couple of days (nobody could say just how many days), the gentle up and down motion of the boat stopped, and the whole cabin shook violently. It was early in the morning, and Mario, Yoshi and Link had been sleeping peacefully, but Link was the only one who was roused from his sleep.

"What happened?" he murmured. "Why is the boat so still?" And he quietly stood up, so he wouldn't wake his friends, and walked outside.

In front of his eyes, he could see a beautiful, wide beach with white sand and palm trees. Behind the beach, wide, green and lush grasslands were stretching to the horizon, with gentle hills here and there. In the far East, he could see a big forest, and at the northern horizon, a mighty mountain range. Birds were flying through the skies, and what looked like a herd of wild horses came running along the beach. They were neighing loudly, and their proud manes were blowing in the wind. All of this filled Link's heart with a strange feeling he couldn't explain. It felt as if every single part of him wanted to cry out with joy, and a pleasant breeze refreshed his mind.

He barely heard how Mario came out of the cabin next to him, stretching his arms as he yawned. "Good morning!" he said. "My, that's a witty face you're making. So, you ready for breakfast or what?"

"Oh Mario…" Link murmured. "This looks so wonderful… these wide plains… and the big forest… and everything…"

Mario blinked. "Forest? Since when is there a forest in the middle of the…" He followed his friend's stare and finally noticed where they were as well. "Mamma mia…" he murmured.

"Where are we?" Link asked. "Mario, what country could this be?"

"Well, this is certainly a bigger country than Mushroom Island…" the plumber said. He went back inside, took a map, and came walking back outside. He then compared the map to the landscape in front of them. "Those wide plains… the ocean to the South… the Forest in the East… and the mountains in the North…" A big grin then appeared underneath his mustache. "I'm gonna eat my cap if this isn't the kingdom of Hyrule!

"Hyrule…" Link murmured.

"Yep! I read all there is to know about it in the books in peach's library. Look on the map, the Castle Town of Hyrule is north of here, close to the mountain range. Why don't we go there and offer the good king the services of two-hard working plumbers?"

"But I'm not a plumber," Link protested.

"You can still be my assistant," Mario smiled. "Back when we were young, I've always thought that Luigi was a lost cause as well… and look how good he's with the wrench nowadays."

They packed everything they needed and saddled Yoshi. They decided to leave the boat behind, as they didn't know if Hyrule had a proper port or not. Mario then jumped on Yoshi's back, and Link sat down behind him.

"Let's-a go!" Mario shouted, and Yoshi carried his friends across the beautiful Hyrule field.

Yoshi was in a very good mood today. This place was made for running, something he had never been able to do in the small park he lived, back on Mushroom Island. The fresh air had an invigorating effect on him, and the green dinosaur ran as fast as never before. They passed a few of Hyrule's inhabitants, which Mario knew were called 'Hylians'. They looked like a couple of farmers with a horse that was pulling a cart. Mario and Link could see a big farm in the distance, and it was quite obvious that the farmers came from there.

A young girl with red hair was sitting on top of the cart and waved when she saw Link. Link smiled and waved back.

'Strange,' he thought. 'They have the same pointed ears as me…'

Soon enough, they reached a gentle river, and rode across a bridge that was crossing the gentle waters. On the other side, they could see the walls and gates of a big city.

"This is it, Link: Castle Town! With a bit of luck, we'll be able to have dinner in the palace today!" Mario shouted.

They dismounted when they reached the gates. The armor-clad guards just nodded when they walked in. It seemed that a young boy, a stout plumber and a green dinosaur didn't rouse any suspicion at all.

When they were walking through the streets of Castle Town, Link was overwhelmed. Never before had he seen so many people at once. They were chatting, laughing, working, buying food and other wares from the street vendors. He saw playing children, patrolling soldiers, laughing merchant women and town magistrates that were discussing the latest in politics.

Link was very surprised when he saw a couple of creatures that walked on two legs just like the Hylians, but looked like they were made completely out of rock. But Mario had read about these 'Gorons' and assured his little friend that they were harmless.

The three friends carefully made their way through the crowd and walked towards the big and majestic castle that towered over everything. The castle was at least thrice as big as Peach's own castle back on Mushroom Island, but it still woke melancholic feelings within Link's heart.

Then they stood in front of the giant gate that was taller than three Marios stapled on each other. Link saw an beautiful ornament just above the gate, which was artistically crafted into the white stone the castle wall was made of. In its middle, there were three golden triangles that were assembled in a way that they formed a bigger triangle.

Link frowned. Now where had he seen this sign before?

Mario didn't pay it any attention. Seeing a small opening in the huge gate, he walked up to it and knocked several times. Soon enough, a bored and sour-looking face with a bushy mustache appeared. "Yes?"

Mario cleared his throat. "Hello. We are travelling plumbers and would like to talk to the king of Hyrule, please!"

The man with the bushy mustache frowned. "In what matter do you wish to speak to our beloved king?"

"Well, we'd like to tell him in person, if you don't mind," Mario said impatiently. He didn't like the other man's attitude very much.

"I am afraid it is impossible at the moment, my dear plumbers. I can't let you meet the king right now. Or do you have an invitation?"

"No, we haven't," Mario said, a bit surprised.

"I am terribly sorry, then I can't let you in. The king is busy and doesn't have the time to meet you."

"But he will have some time today, won't he?" Mario asked.

"I beg your pardon… but the king never has time. Have a nice day!" And the bushy mustache disappeared, leaving Link, Mario and Yoshi standing outside.

"You know what, Mario?" Link asked. "I believe the king does have some time. That man just doesn't want to let us in."

"I think you're right," Mario grumbled. "What a pity… I hoped that if we talk to the king, we will get the permission to stay in Hyrule and work as plumbers. How else are we going to earn some rupees… that's the currency in Hyrule, by the way."

"And what do we do now?" Link wondered.

Before Mario could reply, his stomach started rumbling all of a sudden. And soon enough, Link's stomach joined him.

"I just remembered that we didn't have any breakfast today…" Link groaned. "Mario, I'm hungry…"

"So am I," Mario nodded. "You don't think there's a nice pizzeria in castle Town, do you?" he joked.

"But Mario, we don't have any rupees!" Link reminded him. "Or do you think the Hylians would accept Mushroom Kingdom coins?"

"Blast it, I didn't think of that…" Mario grumbled. "I just remembered that gold isn't worth much here in Hyrule. We'd be able to get 5 rupees at the best if we exchange our coins in town. That's barely enough for a mushroom sandwich…"

"Maybe we should work to earn some rupees," Link suggested.

"On an empty stomach?"

"Excuse me," a quiet voice next to them spoke up. "But I happened to listen to your conversation and couldn't help but wonder: Could I be of any assistance?"

Link and Mario looked around and saw a small girl standing next to him, barely older than Link himself. She had green hair and was, similarly to Link, dressed in green clothes.

"My name is Saria," the girl introduced herself politely. "I am a forest Kokiri… but right now, I am working here in Castle Town. I've always wanted to see the big city… but forgive me, I don't want to bore you with my story. I heard that you just arrived in town and have no rupees to pay for a meal… isn't that right?"

"Well, yes, we weren't able to take much money with us when we left our home kingdom… and unfortunately, I forgot that our money won't help us much when exchanged for rupees."

"I certainly don't want you to have a wrong impression of Hyrule's hospitality," Saria said. "If you don't mind, I would like to invite you to lunch."

"Just like that?" Link asked in surprise.

"Why, of course!" Saria smiled. "Kokiri never ignore a hungry wanderer when they can offer him a nice meal. Besides, I've always been curious about foreign countries… so, in exchange, you could tell me about your home country. That is, if you don't mind…"

"No, no problem at all!" Link and Mario said at once.

Saria smiled and bowed in front of them. "Then please wait here, I'll be right back. I'll bring you something to eat."

And while the green-haired girl hurried away, Link and Mario sat down on some stone benches that were standing next to a beautiful spring in front of the main plaza right in front of the castle gates. In the meantime, Yoshi took a few mouthful of water.

The little Kokiri girl came back soon enough and carried two trays that were full with food. "Here you go!" she said as she put them down next to them. "Since I didn't know what you like, I brought you all the specialties Hyrule has to offer: fresh fish from Zora's Domain, spicey curry from Goron Town, cheese and bread from Lon Lon Ranch and, as a dessert, Deku Nut cake from the Lost Woods."

"Thank you!" Mario and Link said before digging in. It all tasted wonderfully to them, and even Mario, whose favorite food had been Italian dishes up to know, had to admit that the people from Hyrule knew how to cook. In-beetween bites, they told Saria their names, where they came from and why they were in Hyrule. And the forest girl listened with great interest. Afterwards, she told them a bit about Hyrule, and the three goddesses that were supposedly the creators of the land.

"Where could you get so much food in such a short time?" Link then asked Saria.

"From the royal kitchen," the girl said. "See, the entrance for servants is over there!" And she pointed to a small door to the far right of the castle gates, which was partly hidden by bushes. Mario and Link hadn't even noticed it.

"And you can just go in there and take food?" Link wondered.

"Why not? I'm working in the castle kitchen, after all," Saria explained

"But wasn't this food meant for somebody else?" Link asked.

"It was King Daltus' dinner," Saria said with a shrug.

"WHAT??" Mario and Link gasped and nearly dropped their spoons.

"Well… the poor king said he wasn't hungry today… again…" Saria sighed.

"But why?" Link wondered. "This food is excellent!"

"Say, don't you know the sorrow our king is suffering from?" Saria asked in surprise. "Everyone here in Hyrule knows!"

Mario shook his head. "Sorry, we don't."

A very stern expression then appeared on Saria's face. "All right, I will show you. Wait, let me bring the dishes back into the kitchen first…" And she gathered all the dishes and carried them back to the small servant door.

When she came back, she said: "Okay, follow me! Please, come over here…" And she lead the friends across the marketplace until they stood in front of a big placard that was hanging on the wall of a tavern. Saria pointed at it, and again Link saw the three golden triangles.

"Please, read," Saria said and gestured at the text below the emblem. And Mario read:

'On royal decree,

I, King Daltus Hyrule, solemnly declare

that I will give the hand of my daughter, Princess Zelda,

to the man who will rescue her from the kingdom of evil Pokemon!'

Mario let out a whistle. "Mamma mia…"

"What does it say?" Link asked, since he couldn't read. And Mario read it out aloud.

Suddenly, Saria let out a gasp. "Dear Farore! I was supposed to be back in the kitchen by now! My break was over five minutes ago! I beg your pardon, but I have to return to the castle immediately."

She quickly promised to prepare a breakfast for Mario and Link if they promised to return in the morning, and then she ran back to the castle.

Link looked up at the placard thoughtfully. "Do you think we should try and save the princess? I mean, we know how to fight…"

"That's not a bad idea at all," Mario nodded. "Think about it: When we bring the princess back to her father, he will be so glad that he will most probably allow us to stay here in Hyrule.

Link thought about it. Truth was, he really wanted to go back to Mushroom Island. But that was not possible, and Hyrule was a very nice country.

"But… do you know what Pokemon are? Maybe they are nasty and dangerous beasts…"

"Well, we'll find out about it soon enough," Mario smirked. "Now let's find some place to sleep. Tomorrow, we'll get up early and go to the king. I'm sure he'll let us in as soon as he learns that we're going to save the princess."

Mario, Link and Yoshi then found a warm stable behind the tavern. The single horse that was kept in there didn't seem to mind their presence at all and even allowed Yoshi to eat from its trough. They lay down in the hay, and Mario was soon fast asleep.

Before Link fell asleep, he thought about Princess Peach. He sent a quick prayer to the three goddesses of Hyrule. If they really existed, it couldn't hurt to ask them to watch over his foster mother. And to make sure she didn't worry. With a satisfied smile on his face, he then went to sleep.


	4. Head minister Agahnim

The next morning, Link and Mario woke up early. They quickly cleaned the stable they slept in (they both thought that they owed this to the owner) and went outside. Not too many people were on the streets this early.

Link looked around if he saw Saria anywhere, but the Kokiri girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe we should go and see the king first," Mario suggested.

"But what about breakfast?" Link asked.

"I think we'll be invited for breakfast by the king himself," Mario smiled. They walked up to the castle gate and knocked. Once again, the man with the bushy mustache appeared. "How can I help you?" he asked.

"We would like to see the king," Mario said.

"I'm sorry, but the king isn't available today either," the mustache man said with a grin and wanted to close the flap in the door.

"Just wait a minute," Mario said. "Tell the king that there's someone here who wants to save his daughter, the princess!"

"Oh! That's different, of course! Please wait a moment while I go and inform the king at once."

So the two friends sat down on the stairs in front of the castle and waited. And waited and waited.

The moment the mustached man had talked about was over already. In fact, many moments had passed while the two were waiting.

"Is it supposed to take that long?" Link wondered.

"I'm not sure…" Mario muttered. "I just hope that guy hasn't forgotten about our request."

Well, there was a perfectly good reason for why the doorman needed so much time to deliver the message to the king. Behind the huge castle gate, there was the royal bureau of regulation and administration. The doorman had to follow the regulations that were common practice in such a bureau, of course. At first, he brought the message to the head doorman. The head doorman brought it to the archivist, the archivist to the second chancellor, the second chancellor to the first chancellor, the first chancellor to the head chancellor, and so on and on and on. Naturally, such a procedure was a long process, and it took them several hours until the message was delivered to the chamber of ministry.

The ministers were the most important officials in the Hyrulean government, and second in importance only to the king. There was a minister for inland affairs, one minister for foreign country affairs and a head minister. The current head minister was a man called Agahnim.

Well, there were quite a few things to be said about Agahnim, and not too many of them were putting him in a positive light. He was selfish, greedy, arrogant and extremely ambitious. And he didn't like it one bit when he received a message from two foreigners that came to offer the king to save his daughter.

"There is only one man in this kingdom worthy of taking Princess Zelda as his wife," he said. "And that is me."

Actually, he wasn't interested in the princess one bit, he was just envious. He was envious of anyone who had something he did not. Of course, he was too much of a coward to travel to the Pokémon kingdom. But if the head minister doesn't have the bravery to go there, then no one else was allowed to have it.

"Those two strangers will not get away with it that easily," he told his two fellow ministers, a man named Vaati and a woman named Veran. "I will have to get rid of them and make sure the king never learns of them."

"Why not throw them in prison?" Veran suggested with an evil smirk. "The king is so depressed because of Princess Zelda's disappearance, he won't notice it at all."

"Besides, the castle guards aren't too bright," Vaati chuckled. "They will never talk about it when we give them the right order."

But Agahnim didn't want to take any risks, so he called his personal bodyguard, General Onox, and told him to bring the two foreigners to him.

"But make sure the king doesn't know about this," he told the general. "We don't want to bother him with such a triviality."

The general saluted in front of the head minister and left the room. He was a huge, titanic man who was entirely clad in a heavy suit of armor. If the minister gave him an order, he'd execute that order, no matter what happens.

A short while afterwards, Mario and Link were still waiting outside the castle gates and were wondering if it made any sense to wait any further. Just when Link wanted to suggest going and looking for Saria, so they would at least have some breakfast, the gates opened widely, and the imposing figure of General Onox stood in front of them.

"Foreign visitors, I have orders to take you inside," he said in an emotionless voice. "Please come with me!"

Mario looked at the armored man with a frown. "Well, took you long enough. But now I think we want to have some breakfast first. You kept us waiting, so it's just fair that we keep you waiting as well, don't you agree?"

"My orders are to bring you inside at once!" the general growled. "I have to obey my orders!"

"Well, I don't," Mario replied. "Who are you anyways?"

"I am General Onox of the Hylian army!" Onox introduced himself.

"Did the king send you?" Link asked.

Onox shook his head. "No, I am here on order of Agahnim, the head minister."

"Well, we wanted to meet the king, not the head minister…" Mario mumbled.

Onox smirked underneath his helmet. "I'm sure the noble Agahnim will take you to the king right away…"

"Oh well, I guess we shouldn't keep him waiting, then," Mario sighed. "Please, lead the way!"

Before following Mario and the general, Link turned around to Yoshi. "Yoshi, you stay here and wait for us, okay?"

The green dinosaur nodded.

They followed the general inside the castle. They were walking along a long hallway, with a marble ceiling and a red carpet on the floor. Many doors were leading to the left and right, but Onox lead them straight ahead. Finally, he gestured at a door when they reached the end of the hallway. "Here it is," he said. He opened the door, Mario and Link went in, and the general waited outside.

The door closed behind them while Mario and Link stepped in front of the three ministers that were sitting in high chairs. In the middle, on the highest chair, the head minister Agahnim in his red velvet robes was sitting.

"Good morning," Mario said politely. "Are you head minister Agahnim? We'd like to meet the king, and we're in a hurry."

"Good morning," Agahnim smiled. "You will see the king… in due time."

"Maybe," Vaati added with a grin.

"Not quite impossible," Veran chuckled.

"If you don't mind, I have a few questions first," Agahnim told them. "First of all, who are you?"

"And where are you from?" Vaati asked.

"And what are you doing here?" Veran added.

"My name is Mario, and this is my young friend Link. We came here from the Mushroom Kingdom, and we want to see the king, to tell him that we want to save the princess from the Pokémon kingdom."

"Quite admirable," Agahnim smiled. "But is that really true?"

"Do you have proof?" Vaati asked,

"Or a permission?" Veran added.

"No, we don't!" Mario said in surprise. "Listen, lady and gentlemen, what do you want from us? You shouldn't do this. I'm sure the king won't be too happy when he hears about this."

"He will probably never know about this," Agahnim said with a smile.

"You will never be able to see the king without our permission," Vaati proclaimed.

"And we will only let you see him after having checked if your claims are valid," Veran finished.

"Oh, really?" Mario groaned. "Well, please do hurry with the checking, since we haven't had breakfast yet…"

"Say, Mr. Mario…" Agahnim then spoke up. "Do you have an ID card?"

"No!" Mario replied.

The ministers looked at each other.

"Well, how unusual," Vaati snickered. "Without an ID card, how can we be sure that you actually exist?"

Veran grinned. "Without any identification, you don't exist, officially seen. So we can't let you meet the king. Who doesn't exist can't go anywhere, that's logical, isn't it?"

And the ministers nodded at each other while chuckling.

"But we're here!" Link protested. "You can see us, so we exist!"

"That's easy to say," Agahnim replied.

"But no proof," Vaati said.

"At least not officially," Veran added.

"The only thing we could do is to issue a temporary passport," Agahnim suggested, sounding bored. "But that's really all we can do, I'm afraid."

"Well, can we see the king with that?" Mario asked.

"No, of course you can't," Vaati said.

"So what can we do with it, then?" Mario wondered.

"Nothing!" Veran smiled.

Mario was fed up with the whole situation. "Listen now… if you don't take us to the king RIGHT AWAY, we will show you that we exist! Officially and otherwise!" And he angrily shook his fist, while Link did the same.

"Mind your mouth!" Agahnim hissed. "This is defamation of a civil servant on duty! I could put you to prison for this!"

"Say, are you trying to keep us from seeing the king on purpose?" Link asked. It suddenly began to dawn on him what this was all about.

"No, never!" Vaati and Veran said at once.

"You are under arrest!" Agahnim ordered as he raised his voice. "General, arrest them!"

This was exactly what Onox had been waiting for. With one single step, he entered the room. All of a sudden, he was holding a giant, massive morning star in his hand, which he swung around threateningly.

"Get ready, Link…" Mario grimaced as he faced the general with raised fists. "This is going to get ugly…"

They dodged the massive mace in time as it came flying at them. A wooden table standing in the corner was smashed into wooden splinters by the heavy weapon. When Link came back to his feet, he pulled his wooden sword out of its sheath and jumped at the general with a yell. He grabbed his sword with both hands and brought it down on Onox' head.

When it hit the general's helmet, it promptly broke in two.

Link gulped when he looked at the broken stump of his weapon. "Uh-oh…"

"Link, leave this to me!" Mario shouted as he reached into his pocket and pulled a small, red flower out. Touching it with his hand, his overalls transformed from blue into a brilliant white. The Fire Flower had transformed Mario into Fire Mario.

"Let's see if that armor of yours is heat-proof," Mario said as he began hurling fireballs at the general.

"Annoying little pests…" Onox grunted. "I'll smash you into pieces!"

Around and around flew the morning star. Link yelped as he dove underneath another table. Mario grunted when the spiked mace collided with him. He was flung against the wall, then he slid down to the floor, where he panted heavily.

"Give it up!" Agahnim shouted. "You can't win!"

"Oh no…" Link gasped when he saw how the huge form of Onox slowly approached his friend. "Mario!"

That's when he saw how couple of swords hanging on the wall. They were artistically placed, but they were actual weapons made of fine, Hylian steel… and since his wooden sword was broken, Link had no other choice but to take what he found. He quickly took one of the swords and ran at the general. He quickly jumped up and wrapped his arms and legs around the general's armor. "Leave my friend alone!" he shouted.

"What? You… get off me, you little bug!" Onox grunted as he tried to shake Link off his back. But Link was too small and nimble for the heavily armored man. He took his new sword, pushed it under the general's helmet and, using it as a lever, pushed the helmet off his head. "Now, Mario!"

Seeing his chance, Mario jumped up and pulled back his fist in mid-flight. Onox saw what he was up to and tried to intercept his flight… but then the plumber's fist connected with Onox' jaw. Onox let out a strangled groan while his eyes rolled back into his skull. He slowly staggered forwards, then backwards… and then he began to fall. Link jumped off his back just in time when the colossal man came crashing down to the ground.

Link wiped his head. "Well, so much for him…"

"Good job!" Mario smiled. Then he turned to face the ministers, whose chairs had been unaffected by the chaotic mess in the room. "Now it's your turn! Bring us to the king, or else…"

Agahnim snickered and snapped his fingers. Vaati and Veran chuckled and raised their hands. An eerie, purple aura surrounded the two ministers as they used some dark magic to entrap Mario and Link in two shimmering force fields.

"As I said," Agahnim smiled. "You are under arrest!"

And when the door opened and a whole squadron of Hylian soldiers entered the ministry, Mario and Link realized that they were out of luck this time.


	5. The Six Sages

There was a very simple reason why Saria hadn't managed to meet her friends to bring them breakfast this morning: She overslept.

By the time she finally woke up, she instantly thought of her new friends and looked out of the window. She gasped when she noticed how high up the sun already was. In a hurry, she got dressed and ran outside. But by that time, Link and Mario had already been brought into the castle by General Onox.

The Kokiri girl looked around the main plaza. "Now where could they be?" she wondered.

"Yoshi!" A green dinosaur came running up to her, waving around his arms. "Yoshi yoshi!"

"Huh? Oh, it's you!" Saria smiled at Yoshi. "Say, where are your friends?"

"Yoshi yoshi!" he repeated again and again. Then he squeaked a few times and gestured at the main gate.

"They're already inside?" Saria wondered. Then she giggled. "How did they manage to get past all that bureaucracy, I wonder?"

"Yoshi!" the dinosaur called up. He then tried to put a menacing look on his face and stomped around in front of Saria, imitating Onox' way of walking. Most people who'd see him like this would have begun to wonder about the young dinosaur's sanity.

But Saria recognized the general's way of walking immediately. "Oh no!" she gasped. If they were brought to Minister Agahnim, that only meant trouble. Unlike most of the people working at the castle, she knew the head minister wasn't to be trusted. "I need to find them right away," she shouted.

Yoshi wanted to follow her, but she shook her head. "No, stay here! Don't worry, I know what to do. Trust me in this, I will help them."

And Yoshi decided to trust the green-haired girl and stayed behind.

Saria ran inside the castle as fast as she could. As a member of the castle staff, she was permitted entrance right away. Knowing the way, she hasted through the whole bureau of administration, until she reached the chamber of ministry. The door was only slightly ajar. Through it, she could see how Mario and Link were fighting the general, and she gasped in fright. She wanted to help them, but she knew she was no match against the general's might… not even mentioning the magical powers of the ministers. She needed some help.

And the only person who could help in this situation was the king himself.

Saria turned around and ran down the corridor until she reached some stairs. She hurried upstairs and never stopped until she saw the big double doors that were leading into the throne room in front of her. Two servants were just closing the door, so she sped up and dove to the ground, using the slick floor to slide on her stomach, until she was inside the throne room. Behind her, the door was closed.

She then remembered that the king had planned a concert for today, as the room was full with many musicians that were about to play a calm and slow melody. But she definitely couldn't wait until the concert was over, so she jumped to her feet and ran in front of the throne, where she fell down to her knees.

All around her, the musicians stopped playing, and angry murmurs were heard. The king, an elderly and dignified man with a white beard, stood up from his throne and raised his bushy eyebrows in confusion. "What do you want, Saria?" he asked in a polite, yet slightly reproachful voice. "Why are you interrupting the concert?"

Saria was out of breath and only managed to stammer: "Li... li... ma... mari... da... danger!"

"Slow down, child," the king said. "Take your time."

"But they want to save Zelda!" Saria blurted out.

In a flash, the king was on his feet. "Who?" he demanded to know. "Where? Where are they?"

"In the bureau of regulation and administration!" she shouted. "Quick! The... the ministers..."

"What is this about the ministers?" the king asked impatiently.

"...want to kill them!" Saria said in a shrill voice.

Now the whole royal household was in turmoil. The musicians dropped the instruments and the servants and maids nervously chattered with each other. The king, hoping to see his beloved daughter again, ran out of the throne room, followed by his personal guardians and servants.

Saria let out a sigh of relief. "Good," she murmured. "Now they will be fine..." and then she fell to the ground, having fainted due to the stress and excitement.

* * *

Meanwhile, the situation wasn't looking too good for our two friends. Trapped inside two magical bubbles and surrounded by several dozens of royal guards, they realized that their journey had come to a grim end.

Agahnim grinned at them. "Well, how do you like this? Now who is going to save the princess? Not you, that's for sure! We will have you executed in no time! Why, how about we do it here, right on the spot?"

Mario looked at his little friend. "Link... I'm sorry... looks like coming with me wasn't the wisest decision you made in life..."

Link didn't know what to say. He swallowed and then whispered: "But we are friends. At least we are together..."

"How touching..." Agahnim said in a mocking voice, and behind him, Vaati and Veran laughed evilly. "I am afraid I have to interrupt this moment, but I am a very busy man... General Onox! Do your duty!"

With a malicious grin on his face, the colossal general stepped up to the two trapped adventurers. In his hands, he now carried a huge, two handed blade. He raised it above his head…

"STOP!" a gentle, but commanding voice coming from the door shouted. The royal guards turned around in confusion.

King Daltus of Hyrule had arrived, together with all of his personal servants and guardians. The ministers paled when they saw the monarch.

"Y-your Majesty..." Agahnim stuttered. "Wh-what a surprise..."

"Silence!" the king commanded. "General, lower your blade!"

With shaking hands, Onox obeyed. The king nodded. "Free those two," he ordered. "And enchain Agahnim, Vaati and Veran at once!"

Onox didn't dare to disobey the king, even if it pained his loyal heart to put chains on the man he had sworn to serve his whole life.

"Impa, make sure they are brought down into the darkest dungeon!" the king commanded, and a white-haired, armor-clad woman standing next to him nodded. Accompanied by a squad of soldiers, the ministers were being led away. Before he left the room, Agahnim gave Link and Mario a final glare of hatred, and Link couldn't resist: He blew the evil wizard a raspberry.

"Rauru, would you help our two friends?" the king gently asked an elderly man standing next to him. The man called Rauru nodded and made a few gestures with his hands. The magical barriers surrounding Mario and Link dissipated, and they were free once again.

Mario walked up to the king and offered him his hand. "Good-a day to you, your Majesty... and thank-a you! That-a truly was a rescue at the last moment."

The king smiled, and they shook hands.

"But your Majesty!" Link spoke up in confusion. "How could you know what's going on?"

"A very courageous girl named Saria appeared in my throne room and explained everything to me," the king said.

"Saria!" Mario and Link spoke up in unison.

"Then she saved our lives," Mario realized.

"She will be rewarded royally," King Daltus promised. "But for now, how about you join me, dear guests? I'm sure there's much we need to talk about."

* * *

From that moment on, everything was well for the two friends. The king offered the two men who wanted to save his daughter the best guest room inside the chamber and invited them to every royal meal. The king's scholars even found out what kind of food they were used to from living in the Mushroom Kingdom, and the royal chefs prepared a meal that was prepared Mushroom Kingdom style. Their new friend and savior Saria also joined them during most of these meals. Yoshi was offered the best of stables and the best Hylian fruit to eat.

The king realized that the two travellers had come quite a way from their home country, and he understood that they would need a few days to relax before they could go and save his daughter. But after two days had passed, Mario and Link told them that they were willing to leave as soon as possible.

So the king arranged a meeting with the wisest people in Hyrule: The Six Sages! They knew almost everything about their country and its history, and if Mario and Link had any questions, they surely had an answer for them.

In the evening, his Majesty led the two heroes into the dimly lit castle library, where the Sages were waiting for them. Link recognized the wise Rauru and the warrior-woman Impa. There were also a dark-skinned woman with long, red hair and one of the mighty Gorons. Sitting next to them was a woman with blue skin and fin-like appandages that were dangling from her arms and legs.

To their surprise, they also saw their friend Saria sitting among the Sages. Like every Sage, the Kokiri girl was sitting on a chair that was adorned by a special emblem. This emblem was different on every chair.

"Dear friends, may I introduce you to the Six Sages of Hyrule," the king said. "Rauru of the Hylians, Sage of Light... Impa of the Sheikah, Sage of Shadows... Nabooru of the Gerudo, Sage of Spirits... Darunia of the Gorons, Sage of Fire... Ruto of the Zora, Sage of Water... and Saria of the Kokiri, Sage of the Forest."

Saria chuckled when she saw the dumbfounded look on her friends' faces. "What, are you surprised that I'm a Sage as well?"

"But… you told us you work in the kitchen!" Link proclaimed.

"Well, I sometimes like to help out in the kitchen, so I didn't even lie," the Kokiri winked.

"I think we should begin," Rauru spoke up. "Dear saviors of our beloved princess, if there is anything you need to know, ask ahead. We will be happy to be of assistance."

"Okay," Mario nodded. "First of all, I'd like to know: Hoe do you know at all that the princess is being held within the kingdom of Pokemon?"

"Well, it's like this," Impa spoke up. "One year ago, our dear princess spent her holidays in the royal residence at the Hylian sea. One day, she suddenly disappeared. No one really knew what happened. I..." A look of severe guilt appeared on the Sheikah's face. "I was her personal bodyguard and handmaiden and was supposed to protect her with my life... but... I failed..."

"Don't say that, we all knew you always did your job perfectly," Saria said. "According to what Impa told us, the princess seemingly disappeared into thin air. Nobody could have prevented that."

"Well, at first we feared that we had lost her forever," Rauru went on. "Until we found the bottle. It was a bottle that contained a message of Princess Zelda."

"It was found by my people, the Zoras," Ruto explained. "You must know, the most people of Hyrule believe that the Zora River has its origins in our domain. But actually, the river is coming out of the mountains behind the Zora Domain."

"A mountain range that includes Death Mountain, the home of us Gorons," Darunia continued. "We don't really know where the river head is located, but it definitely is located outside of our kingdom."

"May I see this message?" Mario asked.

Rauru nodded and produced a small envelope, which contained a tiny, folded piece of paper. Mario unfolded it and read aloud:

"To whoever finds this message:

Whoever you may be, please take this message to my father, King Daltus of Hyrule. Team R. has kidnapped me and sold me to Mr. Mewtwo in the kingdom of evil Pokemon. There are many other children here, who are in the same predicament as me. Please save us, it's just horrible in here! Mr. Mewtwo is a Pokemon, and the address I'm staying at is:

Princess Zelda at Mr. Mewtwo's place

New Island

Old Street 88

Third floor on the left."

Mario lowered the letter. Lost in thought, he just stared into empty space and murmured: "Mewtwo? Mewtwo? New Island? Where did I hear that before...?"

"New Island is located in the kingdom of evil Pokemon," Nabooru explained. "We did some research and found out about it in an ancient book."

Mario rubbed his mustache. "This-a story is beginning to become interesting indeed!"

"Why?" Link wondered.

"Listen closely, Link," Mario said in a serious tone of voice. "I think it's time you learn about an even bigger secret, the secret of your arrival on Mushroom Island. You've been way too young and small to remember anything of it. You know, you've been brought to our island inside a postal package."

And now he told Link everything about what had happened on Mushroom Island when his package had arrived. Link listened with awe, and his jaw looked like it was ready to drop down to the ground. In the end, Mario scribbled the address that had been on his parcel on a small piece of paper.

"And on the backside, there was just a big, red R," he finished his story.

The king and the Sages had listened intently to the whole story and compared the address Mario had scribbled to the one the princess had mentioned in her letter.

"There's no doubt about it," Darunia said. "It's the same address. I can see only one difference: Princess Zelda wrote the address correctly, while the one on Link's package has been written by someone who can't properly write."

"But... but does that mean... does that mean that Princess Peach... isn't my real mother at all?" Link suddenly shouted.

"I'm afraid so," Mario nodded. "That's-a what always worried her, you know?"

For a while, Link was very silent. Then he asked: "But if not her, who are my real parents? You think this Mr. Mewtwo is..."

Mario shook his head. "I don't think so. According to Princess Zelda, this guy is a Pokemon. I wish we knew who this 'Team R' is. If it's truly them who sent that package..."

But nobody knew anything about this mysterious 'Team R'. Not even the Six Sages.

It was understandable that Link was a tad worried.

"Anyways, now we know there's a second, urgent reason for us to go to the kingdom of Pokemon," Mario said. "Not just to save the princess, but also to find out more about Link's origin."

"It's amazing, though," Saria said. "If you hadn't come to Hyrule, you would have never found out about it at all."

"Yes, I'm sure there's a big secret behind it," the king nodded.

"We will try to solve it," Mario said with determination. "Now, where can we find this kingdom of Pokemon?"

"Well, to be honest, the location of this kingdom is unknown to any mortal being," Nabooru said.

"Of course," Mario nodded. "Or else our mailman Pete would have found it."

"Our guess is that it is located somewhere north of the Death Mountain range," Darunia said. "The princess' bottle was swept here by the waters of Zora River, and as we said, we don't know about its origins. We only know that it's coming out of a deep and dark cave."

"But could you just follow the river upstream?" Mario asked.

Ruto shook her head. "No, that's impossible, even for us Zoras. The waters simply are way too torrential in there."

"Well, the river has to come from somewhere," Mario said. "How can we get on the other side of the mountains?"

Impa put a big map onto the table in front of them. "Here's a map of Hyrule. As you can see, there are the Lost Woods to the East, the Hylian Sea to the South, the Gerudo Desert to the West and the Death Mountain range to the North. Goron City, Darunia's birth place, is located within the caverns of Death Mountains. But look, right here, close to Death Mountain, is the village I've founded, Kakariko. Close to it is a small valley that leads through the mountains. It is the only way of crossing the mountains. But we're not sure about that, since nobody has ever dared to follow it. You know, the valley is filled with sinister voices that sound so horrible that no one has ever dared to enter. All we know that beyond this valley, there's a huge desert, even bigger than the Gerudo Desert. We call it the 'Desert of no Return'. That's all I can say, really, since that area is completely unexplored."

"Well, but if we follow this valley, and we follow the mountains on the other side, we should be able to find the river before it flows into the mountains. Then we could follow it upstream to find the kingdom of Pokemon."

"We don't know for sure," Impa shrugged. "But we believe so."

"Well, at-a least we can try," Mario said. "I'd-a like to take this map with me, if you don't mind. Do you have another question, Link?"

"Yes," Link nodded. "What are Pokemon?"

"To our regret, we really don't know much about this species," Rauru admitted. "We have a few reports from people who claim to have seen Pokemon in their lives, but I must say that these reports seem to be very inaccurate." He showed the two a few drawn pictures with a couple of weird-looking creatures.

Link giggled. "Those look funny."

"Indeed, but I doubt that they truly look like this," Rauru said. "Who has ever heard of a lizard-like creature with a leaf on its head?"

"I'm-a sure we can tell you more as soon as we return," Mario said. "I think that's-a all we need to know. Thanks for your help, ladies and gentlemen!"

"Always at your service!" Saria said with another wink.


	6. Valley of Voices and Desert of Doubt

The morning our two friends wanted to leave, Mario woke early. He yawned, then shook his little buddy gently. "It's-a time to get up."

"What, already?" Link murmured. They climbed out of bed and hurried to get ready. Without waking anyone, they then tiptoed through the sleeping castle.

They had planned to use the servant's exit to go to the stables, but when they came past the kitchen door, a green-haired girl emerged.

Saria smirked. "You didn't plan on sneaking away without saying goodbye, did you?"

"No, of course not!" Mario grinned. "Still helping in the kitchen, sage of the forest?"

"I just prepared a little lunchbox for the two of you," Saria said and gave the plumber a big, green plastic box. "The desert is big, and who knows when you'll be able to get some good food again. I also packed a few sandwiches… made in Mushroom Kingdom style."

"Thanks, Saria!" Link smiled.

Then the king himself appeared. He had a very serious look on his face. "My dear friends," he said. "I feel bad for having to let you go on such a dangerous journey. You only spent a couple of days in my castle, but yet these days were enough that I took you in my heart. Not only for the sake of my daughter, but also for your sakes, I hope that you return safely."

Mario shook hands with King Daltus. "We appreciate your kind words, Your Majesty. Thanks a lot for-a everything!"

Saria suddenly began to sniffle. "My dear," the king said in surprise. "You aren't crying, are you?"

"W-well… it's just that I hate saying goodbye… Link, please make sure you come back in one piece… okay?"

"Um… sure," Link nodded.

Saria smiled and gave him a hug. "Good luck…"

"I wrote a letter to Princess Peach," the king said. "I tried to explain everything to her, and where you are going. I'm also interested in having diplomatic ties with her kingdom, of course. Good luck, my friends! May the goddesses protect you!"

They said their goodbyes and walked outside, to the stables. Yoshi was already up and waking for them.

"Hello, old buddy!" Mario smiled. "You ready for the big trip?"

The green dinosaur nodded enthusiastically. "Yoshi! Yosh yoshi!"

Mario and Link got up on Yoshi's back, and then their green friend carried them away, through the still empty streets of Castle Town, and onto the wide plains of Hyrule.

It was a pleasant morning, and for a while, they simply enjoyed the fresh morning air in their faces. They rode along the road that would lead them to Death Mountain.

When they came past Kakariko village, they could see many Hylians standing next to the road. When they were riding past them, they began waving and shouted: "Hooray! Hooray to the heroes from the Mushroom Kingdom! Hooray for the saviors of our princess!"

And then, the three heroes had reached the narrow valley. The valley Impa had called the 'Valley of Voices'.

It was very dark. To their left and right, the high mountains of the Death Mountain range were towering, like ancient giants made of stone. At the far, far end of the valley, barely visible to their eyes, was a small speck of light, the exit to the Desert of Doubt.

Mario stopped Yoshi, and then he and Link dismounted. Carefully, they took a few steps into the dark valley and listened.

Nothing happened.

Link frowned as he peered into the darkness. But he couldn't see anything.

Finally, he looked up to his friend and commented: "It's so quiet."

Mario nodded and wanted to respond, but then, they were able to hear Link's voice from the left: "It's so quiet." And then from the right. "It's so quiet."

And then, it seemed as if the murmurs were wandering along the steep stone cliffs next to them and along the valley: "It's so quiet. It's so quiet. It's so quiet."

"What's that?" Link gasped and clung to his friend.

"What's that? What's that? What's that?" the voices whispered through the valley.

"Don't worry," Mario said. "That's just an echo."

"Just an echo. Just an echo. Just an echo." They were able to hear.

Link shivered. The echoes sounded much creepier than any echo he had ever heard in his life. Realizing that everything they spoke out loud would turn into an echo, Mario just gesture to Yoshi, signalizing that they should continue. But then, Link's long ears perked up.

"Ssshhh," he whispered. "Do you hear that?"

Mario stopped and turned around. The voices were coming back. And this time, it sounded as if there were dozens of Links that said: "It's so quiet. It's so quiet. It's so quiet."

"Mamma mia," Mario whispered. "The echo's back and has multiplied. This is going to be a fun trip if this keeps up…"

The second echo also came back to them. Just like the first echo, the voices had multiplied: "What's that? What's that? What's that?"

"What do you mean?" Link asked quietly. He was a bit scared.

"Well, imagine what would happen if Yoshi begins to run down the valley. His echo would sound like a whole herd of Yoshis."

The third echo was coming back: "Just an echo. Just an echo. Just an echo."

"But how is this possible?" Link wondered.

"Can't say," Mario shrugged. "Maybe a natural phenomenon…"

"Careful, there it is again," Link gasped.

The voices were returning, and this time, it had multiplied tremendously. "It is so quiet. It is so quiet. It is so quiet." thousands of Links were screaming.

Link grimaced. "What can we do against it? This is getting worse and worse."

"I got-a no idea," Mario said. "I think the best thing we can-a do is to cross this-a valley as fast as-a possible."

Link's question "What's that?" was coming back. But this time they heard a hundred thousand Jims that were yelling on the top of their lungs.

Mario quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a candle. "You got some matches?" he asked. But before Link could reply, he said: "Never mind. I got it." And he took something else from his pockets, something Link recognized as a Fire Flower.

A flash of light later, and Mario was dressed in his white fire outfit. A tiny fireball later, and the candle was burning. The melting wax was running down Mario's glove. He quickly took a few lumps of wax and formed little balls which he stuck into his ears. He then gave some to Link, who repeated his friend's actions.

Then the third echo came back. But this time, they barely heard it. Link nodded, and satisfied, they sat back on Yoshi's saddle. After providing their dinosaur friend with some wax as well, they continued their way.

However, as Mario predicted it, Yoshi's rapid footsteps quickly caused an echo on their own, and in no time, the thundering noise of a Yoshi stampede was echoing through the valley, alongside the voices of Mario and Link.

The two friends had no way of knowing this, but the walls of the valley were arranged in such a matter, that no sound was able to leave it. The sounds could reach the end of the valley and return back to the beginning, but never escape. And every time that happened, the echo caused a new echo. And the more voices there were, the louder they became.

Now someone could easily ask: Why was it so quiet when Mario and Link entered the valley? The answer is that it had rained, only a couple of days before they had come to Hyrule. And every time it rained, the sounds were just washed away by the raindrops. And since that day, nobody had entered the valley up to now.

But now back to our friends who were running through the valley. That meant, it was Yoshi who was running. And he had never run this fast before in his entire life.

Just then, Link took a look back at the entrance, where they had come from… and a cold shiver was running down his spine.

He saw that to their left and right, the rocks had began to fall down from the steep cliffs. If they still stood at the valley entrance, they would be buried by tons of heavy boulders by now. Yoshi's stampede noise and their yelling voices had multiplied to an extent that literally made the canyon collapse. Link hit Mario on the shoulder and gestured backwards.

When Mario realized the danger they were in, he shouted something in Yoshi's ear. And in spite of the wax that was still there, Yoshi understood his friend and accelerated even more.

They didn't know how, but their green friend made it in time. Just before the whole valley collapsed behind them, Yoshi shot out into the vastness of the desert, and a huge cloud of dust rose up into the air.

Yoshi and his two riders landed in the middle of a big sand dune. Coughing, they dug their way out of it and looked back the way they came.

The way back through the mountain was blocked. The whole valley was filled with tons of fallen rocks.

Mario sighed. "Well, that-a was a close call."

"Yeah, Link nodded." But I think no one will ever be able to go through that valley again."

"No," Mario said. "The bad thing about it is: We won't be able to go back either."

Link hadn't even seen it that way yet. "Oh no!" he gasped. "But how are we gonna get back home?"

Mario scratched his head. "Well, it looks-a like we have no choice but to find another way."

"Where are we anyway?" Link asked.

"In the desert," Mario said as he looked around. "Seems like this is it: The Desert of Doubt."

All around them, they could see nothing but sand. Dunes of everlasting sand, with some rubble here and there, and a couple of cacti.

"How did that happen?" Link asked. He was still looking at the collapsed valley.

"My guess is that the echo increased the volume so much that it made the walls collapse," Mario assumed. "I don't think we'd have been able to get out of there without Yoshi's help." And he proudly patted the dinosaur's head.

Yoshi smiled tiredly, then his head plopped back on the soft sand.

"I guess we need to take a rest for now," Mario said. "Yoshi must be pretty tired."

"Yeah," Lin nodded and sat down. "I could use a small rest myself."

So they decided to wait a couple of minutes. Later, Yoshi had recovered, and they continued their way, but this time on foot.

They walked for a while. It was very hot. Link wiped his head. And then, he heard a strange, squawking noise. He looked up.

"Hey, Mario!" he whispered. "Do you see those ugly birds around us?"

"I see them," his plumber friend nodded. "Those are vultures. But-a no need to worry. As long as you're still alive, vultures leave you alone. They wait until you're dead."

"Are you sure?" Link wondered. He didn't like how those creepy birds were looking at them.

"Absolutely," Mario said. "Vultures only feed on carrion, meaning on people and animals that have already died."

"Oh… if you say so."

But somehow, Link wasn't convinced. He had the feeling that those birds would love to eat a tasty young boy as he was…

The sun was rising higher and higher. The heat made the air flicker. Every now and then, they were passing the skeletons of some huge beasts.

It was some time around noon, when Mario suddenly exclaimed: "What?"

"What's up?" Link asked sleepily. The heat was making him tired.

"We must have taken a wrong turn," Mario murmured and gestured ahead.

Link rubbed his eyes. All of a sudden, the huge mountain range they had left behind was in front of them. And Link had been sure that they only had walked straight ahead.

But something was very odd: The mountains weren't really standing on solid ground. They were floating slightly above it.

"What's going on here?" Link asked in a worried voice.

"I dunno," Mario muttered. "Looks-a like we have to turn around…"

But before they could do so, the mountain range vanished, and they couldn't see it either in front of them or behind them. Instead, they saw a beach with palm trees that were swaying in the wind.

Mario's eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of his skull. "Now look at that," he murmured.

"This is a very strange place, Mario," Link commented.

Suddenly, the mountain range reappeared to their left. But this time it was upside down. It was quasi hanging down from the skies.

"Something is wrong here," Mario said and shook his head.

"What shall we do?" Link asked. "If this keeps up, we'll never find the right way."

"I guess the best thing we can do is to just go ahead until we are out of this jumbled mess."

So they kept on walking. But the strange images were getting weirder and weirder. Above their heads, huge icebergs were floating. And they didn't even melt. In front of them, they saw the Eiffel Tower. To their left, a tribe of Shyguys was dancing a tribal dance around a big fire. And to their right, they could see Castle Hyrule.

And then, everything vanished as quickly as it had appeared. But soon enough, something else was appearing.

Mario had hoped that they could at least use the sun as a reference point. But that was impossible, as there were actually three suns in the sky. And then, the strange visions even began to mix with each other. They saw an army of armored soldiers that was fighting a group of schoolgirls. And above that scene, there was a lake. Cows were grazing on its waters.

Mario shook his head again. "If all of this wasn't so confusing, it would almost be funny."

A sailing ship was flying through the air. A big waterfall was coming out of it.

"I don't know…" Link winced. "I don't like this one bit, Mario… I hope this is over soon…"

For a while, they didn't say anything and just walked ahead, through the assortment of strange visions. But then, all of a sudden, Link loudly yelped.

"Mario! Look… look, over there! How can this be? That's… that's Mushroom Island!"

And indeed, not too far from them, they saw their home island, surrounded by the wide ocean. They saw the house of Toad and Toadette, the house of Mario and Luigi and even Princess peach's castle. They saw the princess standing in front of the castle gates. Luigi, the Toads and mailman Pete were next to her. The princess had an envelope in her hand and looked very sad.

"Quick!" Link shouted. "Quick, let's hurry! Peach! Peach, we're back home! We're home! It's me, Link! I'm coming…"

But just when he was only a few distance in front of Mushroom Island, it disappeared into thin air, together with all the other strange images. All around them was nothing but the wide, empty desert.

Link couldn't believe it. But it was the cruel truth. Mushroom Island wasn't there. He felt how a small tear was running down his face, and even Mario had to rub his nose.

Not saying any word, they kept on walking.

But the strangest thing was about to happen. Suddenly, they were standing in front of another green dinosaur, another boy in green clothing and a red-capped man with a bushy mustache.

"This-a is too much!" Mario grumbled. "Are we dreaming?"

They slowly walked ahead. The other group began to walk, too. When Mario turned right, the other plumber turned right as well. Link raised his hand and waved, and the other green-capped boy waved back. Finally, the two groups approached each other. The two Marios and the two Link just wanted to shake hands, when a light breeze blew past them… and the other Mario, Link and Yoshi disappeared.

Link was stunned as he looked at the place where his double had been just a second ago. Suddenly, Mario whistled. "Now I get it!"

"What?" Link asked.

Mario grinned. "You ever heard of the word 'Fata Morgana'?"

"Who's fat?" Link murmured.

"Not fat. Fata Morgana, or mirage. It's a natural phenomenon. Whenever it's so hot that the air begins to flicker, things may appear. Things that aren't really there. Things that are in fact somewhere else.

We even saw ourselves. But then, when the wind blew past us, the air became cooler, and the mirage vanished."

Link was astonished. "Is there anything you don't know, Mario?"

"A lot of things," Mario laughed. He then stopped, frowned and looked down at the ground. "For example, I don't-a know what this is…"

Link looked down as well. "Looks like a trail of footsteps…"

Mario nodded. "It is. Our own footsteps, to be exact. Those crazy mirages made us go in a circle."

"But Mario!" Link shouted in horror. "How will we ever be able to leave this cursed desert?"

"That is-a the question here," Mario muttered.

A giant steamship was hovering in the sky, releasing big, rainbow-colored bubbles. A lighthouse was standing to their left. A whale was performing a headstand on its top. To their left, a big department store with many trees growing from its roof was standing. And behind them, a family of floating, jellyfish-like creatures was doing a lambada dance.

"It's no use," Mario sighed. "We have to wait until the evening. When it's colder, the mirages will vanish for good. We can't go on like this. We'd risk getting even more lost."

"I think you're right," Link nodded. Together, they sat down in the hot sand.

"I'm wondering…" Link murmured.

"What is it, lil' buddy?" Mario asked.

"I mean… back when we saw Mushroom Island… they were looking so sad. I wonder why…"

"Maybe we saw them just when King Daltus' letter arrived," Mario assumed.

Link sighed. "Do you believe… we'll ever see Mushroom Island again?"

Mario smiled and put his arm around Link's shoulder. "I'm-a pretty sure that one day, you, me and Yoshi are-a gonna go back to Mushroom Island."

"You think so?" Link asked hopefully.

"I'm certain of it," Mario winked.

Then he sighed. "Try sleeping a bit, Link. If we want to get out of this desert, we might have to travel all night long."

And a while later, Link and Yoshi actually lay down in the warm sand and began to sleep.

Mario was looking into the distance. Not too far from them, he could see the vultures that had followed them. The carrion birds seemed to be certain that the trio would never find their way out of this hot, endless desert…


End file.
